Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 5,863 Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. $BFS

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,863 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.17% of Saul Centers worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BFS. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter worth about $341,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Saul Centers by 9.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 322,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,997,000 after acquiring an additional 28,282 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Saul Centers by 96.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the second quarter worth approximately $1,073,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Saul Centers in the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John Collich purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.99 per share, with a total value of $59,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 49,260 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,307.40. This trade represents a 4.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David Todd Pearson acquired 3,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.86 per share, with a total value of $99,971.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 50,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,509,930.62. This trade represents a 7.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 6,548 shares of company stock worth $184,769 in the last 90 days. 56.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Saul Centers has an average rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of BFS opened at $31.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.16 and a 12 month high of $41.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.72 and its 200-day moving average is $32.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.24 million, a PE ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 1.16.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.09. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $72.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.74 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 15th. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is 203.45%.

About Saul Centers

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties.